About flora

It started where most things do - with a dream...

As a child I loved making miniature bouquets to scatter around the house. I made hair crowns with clover and dandelion like many little girls. I had a fort under a lilac bush where I would set myself up for make believe. Someday someone is likely to find my buried red pencil box filled with my time capsule and words I can't seem to remember. 

My first job was at a local flower shop processing flowers and at a green house where I made moss baskets. I learned to help tend the owners beloved hosta collection. That is when my love for botanicals really became clear. I spent years in and out of floristry while dabbling in many other mediums, trying to find my creative way.

Things had a way of taking shape in their own time and by chance with an unforeseen path for me. Flora began in my basement with my daughter on my hip. As time went on my family grew and so did Flora. We decided to take a leap of faith and move into a brick a mortar. Opening Flora is my ultimate dream.

I love the day to day in a flower shop sending folks off with botanicals to fill their homes. I adore the special occasions when we get to transform spaces and make one of the most important days of someone's life beautiful. We get to set the stage for these moments grand and small. We strive to cultivate new interests in botanical living within our botanical boutique and cafe.  

As Flora has grown, so has it's tribe. It has become a place with an abundance of talent and filled with creatives. It is no longer myself; it is a powerful group of folks filled with great intention to make the world a more beautiful place. I am forever grateful to spend my days surrounded by folks who inspire.

- Melissa Thomas / founder

What's the future hold?

What started as a wedding and events business in Melissa's basement here in West Asheville, has grown into a full service floral shop, wedding floral experience, a boutique, an artisan coffee & tea house, and a class and event space. We offer a lovely botanical take on all these things.

With the addition of Forage, the expansion of Flora, our ever-growing wedding & event designs, and our latest endeavor, the Flora flower gardens, Flora is a dream come true. 

We invite you to swing by our shop in wonderful West Asheville, grab a mug of coffee, wander through our plants and flowers, and submerse yourself in a floral botanical experience.